MUMBAI, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Utility Indiabulls Power
<INDP.BO> slumped as much as 22 percent on its debut after
raising about $380 million in a heavily subscribed IPO, which
is likely to dampen investor interest in a long and growing IPO
pipeline.

The poor debut for Indiabulls Power, a unit of Indiabulls
Real Estate <INRL.BO> that counts billionaire L.N. Mittal as an
investor, came on the same day that power company Sterlite
Energy, a unit of Sterlite Industries <STRL.BO>, filed papers
for an IPO to raise 51 billion rupees ($1.1 billion).

Indian mobile operators have for long thrived on a model
that assumes more people subscribe to mobile phones and talk
more when prices are low and that model has paid off, fuelling
tremendous pace of subscriber additions — more than 12 million
on average every month.

MUMBAI, Oct 23 (Reuters) – Shares in Reliance Industries
<RELI.BO> slid 4 percent to their lowest close in almost seven
weeks after partner Hardy Oil and Gas <HAOG.L> said a well the
companies drilled in a block off India’s east coast was dry.

Investors had hoped that a four-well drilling programme
would prove the block contained many billions of cubic feet of
gas.

NEW DELHI, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Indian energy major Reliance
Industries <RELI.BO> is paying more to import liquefied natural
gas to power its refinery in western India than if it were
allowed to receive gas from its own field, a lawyer for the
firm said on Thursday.

Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries, India’s top
conglomerate, and Reliance Natural Resources <RENR.BO>, led by
younger brother Anil Ambani, are fighting a legal battle over
terms of a deal to sell natural gas to Reliance Natural at
below the price set by the government.

MUMBAI, Oct 17 (Reuters) – Indian shares ended little
changed on Saturday after a special one-hour session to mark the
start of the new Hindu accounting year, as rich valuations
following the market’s 80 percent rally this year pushed
investors to cash in profits.

MUMBAI, Oct 16 (Reuters) – Tata Consultancy Services
<TCS.BO> beat forecasts with a 29 percent rise in quarterly net
profit helped by demand from recession-hit financial customers,
but said a sharp growth rebound in the near term was unlikely.

India’s top IT services exporter has a good business
pipeline and is pursuing 20 to 25 large outsourcing deals,
Chief Executive N. Chandrasekaran said, but its Western
customers’ technology budgets were still being tightly managed.

MUMBAI, Oct 14 (Reuters) – Cairn India <CAIL.BO>, a unit of Cairn Energy
<CNE.L>, has secured loans worth $1.6 billion to fund its project in the western
state of Rajasthan, potentially helping it accelerate development of its
oilfields in the region.

Cairn India in late August began pumping crude from its Mangala oil field in
the Rajasthan block, the first major crude oil discovery in the energy-hungry
nation in two decades.

The war of words between the billionaire Ambani brothers took an unexpected turn when younger sibling Anil offered an olive branch to elder brother Mukesh in a bid to resolve a feud over the split of the Reliance business empire in 2005.The widespread coverage the Indian media has given to the squabble between the brothers has led to a debate on social networking sites such as Twitter, with some accusing news organisations of playing host to a reality show or soap opera that stars the Ambani family to boost ratings.Prominent columnist Vir Sanghvi wrote through his Twitter account virsanghvi: “Do you think some network should plan a reality show on the Ambani battle? Or are they doing it already on the news?”But the battle between the billionaire Ambani brothers is not a manufactured product for mass entertainment, as it involves two of the world’s wealthiest men and could pose a stumbling block to India’s goal of achieving energy security.The siblings have been involved in several disputes since the family business was split in 2005 following the death of their father, Dhirubhai Ambani, a legendary Indian business tycoon who built Reliance from scratch.The latest of these disputes is over a deal for Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries to sell gas to Anil Ambani’s Reliance Natural Resources at below-market rates as agreed in the 2005 family settlement, brokered by their mother Kokilaben.The dispute has drawn in the government, which claims it is the rightful owner of the gas. The government can also decide who can buy gas and at what price, but it has been accused by Anil Ambani of supporting Reliance Industries.India’s highest court has not excluded the government from the dispute between the Ambanis’ firms, and will hear the case on Oct. 20.India, Asia’s third-largest oil consumer and which imports two-thirds of its crude oil, is hoping to reduce its dependence on foreign oil and become a new frontier for oil and gas exploration.The Indian exploration and production sector will need $40 billion in investments by 2012, the Investment Commission of India estimates, while consultancy KPMG expects the Indian energy sector will require between $120 and $150 billion over 2007 to 2011 as Asia’s third-largest economy expands.However, India’s latest auction of oil and gas exploration blocks evoked a tepid response, with the government indicating the Ambani dispute may have put off investors.Now, with the stakes being so high, surely the media cannot be blamed for helping its audience navigate through the twists and turns of the maze that is the Ambani tussle?

NEW DELHI, Oct 12 (Reuters) – India’s auction of oil and gas
exploration blocks met a tepid response as the economic slump,
valuations and a corporate battle over the sale of gas from
Reliance Industries’ field deterred investors, officials and
analysts said on Monday.

Among provisional winners were BHP Billiton <BLT.L>
<BHP.AX>, which won three shallow-water blocks in the Mumbai
basin off India’s west coast, and Cairn India <CAIL.BO>, a unit
of Cairn Energy <CNE.L> which won a deepwater block in Mumbai
Basin and a shallow water block in the east coast KG basin.